Page 30 of Loving Words
My gaze flicked to Kennedy’s, but neither of us spoke. No promises had been made, but things were progressing incredibly fast between the two of us. When I took a moment to think about it, I realized it didn’t scare me in the slightest. I wasn’t sure what it was about her, but I was ready to jump in without looking if she was.
“My sweet, sweet boy, if you think she’s single, I’m Mother Theresa. Lord knows I don’t rank up after all those wild years dancing burlesque, then there was the tryst with the married man, and oh, the cowboys I rode.” She giggled as we stared open-mouthed at her retreating back.
?Chapter 11
?Kennedy
“Jack, I think yourvehicle is the only one that can fit all of us comfortably,” Gran declared as Jack finished helping me into my coat. My heart melted a little more. The last man to help me into my coat was Grandad before he passed. It really was about the small things.
“What about your Bronco?” Harrison asked.
“I traded it last year for a little MINI Cooper. It’s super cute and zippy but will not fit four grown adults comfortably,” Gran replied.
“What? I didn’t see it when I arrived,” Harrison huffed.
“Then you didn’t look in the garage,” Gran snapped.
Jack took my elbow, and we walked past a sulking Harrison.
“I don’t know what the big deal is, Happy. A car is a car, and I would rather not have to fold myself into the back of Gran’s or yours. Jack’s Jeep is the smartest option.” I rolled my eyes. “Quit being a baby and let’s go.”
Harrison grumbled behind us, but I heard the rustle of his coat and the stomp of his footsteps a few seconds later.
Everyone climbed into Jack’s Jeep. I offered Gran the front seat, but she refused, insisting she was fine sitting in the back with Harrison. That left me in the front next to Jack. My heartbeat increased rapidly at his nearness. I needed to distance myself from him at dinner. Things were moving too fast. He would be going back to Connecticut the day after tomorrow, and I’d be moving back to Norina.
Was this whole thing just a convenience of proximity? We were both in the same house, and yes there was attraction, but was it enough to be more than a Christmas fling? He was this big-time author while I still struggled to get past writing fluff pieces for the entertainment section in either of the publications I worked for. The lead I had had great potential for a mind-blowing story, but it would take time to investigate. There were women who were way more attractive and successful than I was even at the lodge we were driving to.
I grasped my hands in my lap as I waged an internal war with myself.
Harrison’s voice broke through my internal dialogue. “Kennedy, you remember that, don’t you?”
I blinked a couple of times and turned my head toward the back seat. “Remember what?”
“Haven’t you been listening?” Harrison rolled his eyes. “Always in her own little world. I was telling Jack about when you hit the table with the champagne tower, and they all crashed.” He laughed.
I chuckled as the memory brought me out of my funk. “I remember that a bit differently, dear brother. I believe you were trying to hide behind it to kiss the butcher’s daughter and pushed her into the table.”
